Nothing Left To Hide
by Twisted Vixen
Summary: Epilogue to Hiding Behind Masks. What started so long ago as a bitter rivalry slowly turned to a grudging friendship. A nagging feeling eventually blossomed into something he'd never expected. He'd fallen in love with his best friend. SasuNaru yaoi


**Summary:** What started so long ago as a bitter rivalry slowly turned to a grudging friendship. A nagging feeling eventually blossomed into something he'd never expected. He'd fallen in love with his best friend.

**Warning:** SasuNaru yaoi. M rated people, so this means lemons. Can't say I didn't warn you.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own the lyrics for _So Far Away_ by Staind. When I first started writing this chapter way waaaaay back when (yes, I had this chapter figured out by the time I had gotten to chapter 15 of HBM) I was listening to this song. The words are perfect for what is being conveyed in this one shot.

**Authors Note:** Well well, I finished this early, so I might as well post it now. This is the official Hiding Behind Masks Epilogue. This is for all of my yaoi fans out there who want to see how things really turn out between Naruto and Sasuke. It takes place about a year and a half after the end of Hiding Behind Masks. If you have yet to read Hiding Behind Masks, I suggest you read it or this story won't make much sense to you. Enjoy! And please feel free to review and tell me what you think. :)

**Nothing Left to Hide**_  
>A One Shot Epilogue for <span>Hiding Behind Masks<span>  
><em>

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><p><em>This is my life, It's not what it was before<br>All these feelings I've shared  
>And these are my dreams, That I'd never lived before<br>Somebody shake me 'cause I, I must be sleeping_

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><p>A large pile of paperwork slowly dwindled as the day dragged on. It was nothing compared to the three tall piles that had seemed to stretch up to the ceiling earlier that day. The hokage continued putting signatures on each one, hardly reading what the papers said before moving on to the next one. Most of them weren't worth looking at anyway. Usually they were mundane requests from one person or another, D-Rank missions, and the like. Only the occasional important document caused him to pause and read. His flow was interrupted by a knock at the door.<p>

"Enter."

A tall lithe body, in the typical ANBU uniform, walked in with panther-like grace and stood before the hokage's desk at attention. The ANBU's mask was black and looked like a bird. Proudly displayed on one shoulder was the universal anbu tattoo. However, the other shoulder had something very different - a flying raven.

"At ease Karasu."

The ANBU relaxed its stance and reached up to remove the black mask, revealing a flawless pale face and distinctive black hair that the female population of Konoha still squealed over. With a well known smirk that only he could pull off, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and ever so silently walked behind the desk of the hokage and leaned back against it. No one else would have had the audacity to do such a thing, yet he did it without a care. He was the only one that the hokage would allow to show such informality.

"So, hokage-sama, you've finally accomplished your dream." Sasuke murmured. His eyes never looked at the hokage. Instead the orbs were focused on the birds eye view of the village and the mountain, where the new face was just beginning to take shape. "How does it feel?"

"Hmm…" After tossing another signed scroll into the finished pile, cerulean eyes glanced up at his best friend. "I don't know. I guess it hasn't really sunk in yet that I'm here, you know? I keep expecting baa-chan to walk in here, knock me out of this chair and demand her seat back."

Sasuke chuckled and glanced away from the busy village and at the finished pile of paperwork with a smirk. "She would never do that. This," he gestured to the paperwork littering the desk, "would keep her away. It looks like it's already keeping you busy enough."

"Shut it teme." Sasuke smirked again, this time more evilly. "And wipe that smirk off your face."

"Is that an order hokage-sama?"

Naruto glared. "Yes."

Sasuke chuckled. "I might be your personal guard, but you can't order me to change my expression dobe."

"Who says I can't?" Naruto grinned up at the pale ninja as he crossed his arms and tried to pull off an aura of authority that somehow never seemed to work with Sasuke. "It obviously worked for Danzou for years."

Yes, Naruto had finally gotten his dream. He was the Rokudaime Hokage. The ceremony was held a few days ago with all its usual pomp and circumstance. And Sasuke had been standing right next to him as his newly appointed personal guard. Now that Sasuke was finally officially home, he wasn't about to let him out of his sight.

Sasuke thought the same about Naruto, but for very different reasons.

After Akatsuki had been defeated, Tsunade summoned the two young men to her office, threw two chuunin jackets in their direction, informed Sasuke that he would be on probation for six months and then proceeded to kick them both out of her office.

The two men had hardly had a chance to blink, let alone speak.

The six months passed by swiftly. In that time, Sakura and Lee got married (Naruto was proud to be Lee's best man...even if he did have to stand with Ino, who kept making kissing faces to Sai), Kiba and Hinata got engaged, and Shikamaru finally stopped being a lazy bum and officially asked Temari out, though they might as well have just skipped all of that preamble and went straight to marriage. They'd only been dancing around each other since they were 15. And considering Temari's personality, if she wasn't interested she wouldn't have bothered coming to Konoha so much.

The moment Sasuke's probation was over, he and Naruto took the jounin exams together and, of course, passed with flying colors. Soon after, they were both invited to join ANBU. Kakashi, since his team technically was a team no longer, decided to go back to ANBU as well and was immediately given a captain position. Naruto and Sasuke, ironically, ended up being assigned to his team along with another man who'd been in ANBU for years but had lost the rest of his team during the battle with Akatsuki. Their team became one of the most impressive in Konoha's history. They took on the most difficult missions and always completed them successfully.

Naruto had been quite busy between his ANBU duties, doing his share of taking care of Aya, and catching up with his friends. So, the day that Tsunade called him into her office to tell him of her decision to retire and that he would be her successor caught him by complete surprise.

Meaning he fainted.

Yes, fainted.

He still can't believe he did something so pathetic.

Sasuke still doesn't let him live it down.

Of course, all the girls used it as an excuse to have a huge congratulatory party...held at Sasuke's – grudgingly, of course – since he had the most room. By the time the party was in full swing, Tsunade and Naruto had found a corner and ended up spending a good portion of the night talking official hokage business over sake. At least, until Sakura found him and pulled the soon-to-be hokage by the ear to where all of his friends were talking.

It wasn't until the day before the inauguration that everyone else found out what the two had been planning that night.

Naruto had decided to eradicate the council completely. Instead, he appointed 12 advisors who discussed the issues at hand and advised the hokage. But unlike the council, they had no say in the final decision. Some of those of the former council were shocked when Naruto came to them personally and asked them to become advisors. Many of them thought he would refuse to ask anyone who was part of the original council. Obviously, they didn't know Naruto very well. Nara Shikaku lazily declined and then pushed his son in front of the door, silently volunteering him for the job. Aburame Shibi accepted in the usual quiet Aburame way. Hyuuga Hiashi was the strangest experience of everyone though. He actually kneeled before a shocked Naruto and apologized for the entire original council, thanked him for what he had done for Hinata and Neji, and swore complete loyalty to him. The rest of the clan was shocked out of their wits and the clan elders were in an uproar for a week.

Naruto asked Konohamaru to be his secretary. He figured since the boy wanted to take his job one day, he might as well train him right before the time came. Konohamaru grumbled that he just wanted a glorified go-fer.

On the day he was appointed, he almost cried as he heard the cheers that came from the entire village. It was funny how things worked out sometimes. Now that he didn't really care what people thought of him, he finally received the recognition he had always desired as a child. During his acceptance speech, he had looked out at the five stone faces and swore he would protect the village...

...as the Shodai – whose necklace he still wore – proudly had...

...as the Nidaime had...

...as Old Man Sarutobi had...

...as his Grandma Tsunade had...

...and as his father, Minato Namikaze – the Yondaime Hokage, had.

And, who knows, maybe it was a trick of the sun that day. The stone faces of the Sandaime and his father seemed to smile proudly. He hoped it meant that somewhere in the shinigami's stomach - or wherever they were - they knew what had occurred and were proud of him.

He'd only been officially doing the job for a few days, but he had easily gotten the hang of it. Of course, it helps when the last two kages were practically family. He spent so much time in the office during his young life, he already knew the procedure. It helps even more when you have the advantage of shadow clones to do some of the work. He signed another document and then looked up at his personal guard.

"So Sasuke, now that I've reached my goal, what about your own goals? I still remember what you said way back when we became genin. Now that you're through playing the big bad avenger, all you have left to do is restart your clan." Naruto waggled his eyebrows.

"Dobe." Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's insinuation. "No."

"No?"

"No." Naruto raised a brow. He really had gotten the hang of that now after being around the teme.

"What do you mean no? I mean, I know that reviving your clan actually involves putting forth the effort to open your mouth and talk to a girl, maybe even _'gasp'_ like her. But that isn't an impossible task, even for you, right?"

"I'm not restarting the clan dobe."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"You're kidding, right?" The lone Uchiha shook his head. "Why not? What's wrong with settling down with a nice girl, hmm?"

Sasuke shook his head and chuckled. "Fine dobe, I'll bite. What nice girl would you have me marry? Sakura, Hinata, and Ino are already taken, although I wouldn't marry any of them anyway."

"There's Tenten."

Sasuke glared. "Oh hell no!"

"Scared of her collection of pointy weapons?" Naruto grinned.

"Among other things. She's a bit obsessive about them."

"Yeah, but she's not with anyone right now."

"And I'm sure there's a reason for that."

"Sure...no thanks to you."

"Che...whatever dobe." Sasuke rolled his eyes. Naruto rolled his own.

"Fine...Then how about a nice village girl?"

"Don't be stupid. You know she'd have to be a ninja. I'd settle for nothing less."

"Teme..." Naruto whined, "Quit being so picky."

"Don't I have the right to be picky about the person I would marry?" Sasuke retorted, folding his arms across his chest.

"Sasuke, you've only got one of the strongest bloodlines in Konoha. You can't just not restore the clan. Think of how strong Konoha would become with all that new Uchiha blood running around."

"Is that all you care about now that you're hokage?"

"No! I-"

"Naruto, I can do whatever I want. And I've chosen not to restore the clan."

"Teme..." Naruto growled.

"Dobe, just stop." Sasuke glared down at his blond friend in annoyance. "For just a minute stop thinking like a hokage and think like my friend."

Naruto sighed. "Alright. I'm listening."

Sasuke sighed and uncrossed his arms placing the palms on the desk he leaned against. "Naruto, I watched my entire clan die once. And history tends to repeat itself. Face it, my bloodline is cursed by hatred, selfishness and greed. Hell, you know as well as I do that I'm guilty of it myself. What's to say 100 years from now there won't be another Madara wanna-be born who'll go on a personal quest for power. I can't deal with the possibility of that happening. I don't want another Uchiha massacre. I don't want something like that to ever happen again."

"Sasuke..."

"The clan and the sharingan dies with me." Sasuke said with finality. Naruto's sapphire stared into Sasuke's onyx. Finally, he nodded in acquiescence.

"Besides, I don't want to marry any of these fangirls. They're a waste." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"You could always go outside the village teme," he blandly stated.

"Did you ever think that maybe I just don't _want _to marry _any _girl?" Sasuke retorted.

Naruto blinked at the unexpected question. "Huh? Why wouldn't you?" Sasuke shook his head in awe.

"Usuratonkachi. Kami, sometimes I don't know whether you're just that oblivious or if you're just ridiculously naive!"

"What? Take that back. I am not!"

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes. Why was he even arguing with the idiot? Over the years, he'd learned that the direct approach always seemed to work better with Naruto anyway. He reached out and grabbed the collar of Naruto's shirt, leaned down quickly before the blond could stop him and kissed him.

Naruto's eyes went wide for a moment before going half lidded as Sasuke sensuously moved his mouth against his own. The eyes finally closed completely as he hesitantly began to kiss him back.

Sasuke almost smirked when he felt the pressure of Naruto's slightly chapped lips moving against his own. He yanked him out of his chair and wrapped an arm around his thin waist as he deepened the kiss. Naruto blushed at the moan that Sasuke's lips coaxed from him. While his mouth was slightly open, the ANBU's tongue slipped inside and slowly mapped out every inch of Naruto's mouth with relish.

A sudden rush of feelings and emotions went through Naruto and he gripped the dark locks with his fingers, needing something to anchor him to reality. This was nothing like their pathetic accidental kiss at the academy. That was nothing compared to what he was feeling right now. At first he wasn't sure what to do, but it wasn't long before the stroking tongue enticed his own out to play and soon they were both battling over control just like they battled over everything else in their lives.

Sasuke's fingers slipped under the black shirt the blond wore and slowly, lazily trailed calloused fingertips up and down his spine. Naruto couldn't help but shudder and arch closer, which was just fine with him.

The kiss only ended when breathing became an absolute necessity. Both of them panted hard through swollen lips as they pulled back. Sasuke, while his arms did relax a bit, refused to let Naruto budge from his arms and he leaned his forehead against the tanned one. Naruto's eyes raised to meet Sasuke's and he tried to read what was in those dark pools. Sasuke knew what he was doing and almost laughed at how well he knew Naruto. Just as well as the blond knew him, he supposed. So, he allowed the blond to see the true feelings he normally kept hidden behind his blank facade. His hands moved up to the scarred cheeks, palms holding the face in place so they could look nowhere else but each others eyes.

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><p><em>These are my words, That I've never said before<br>I think I'm doing okay  
>And this is the smile, That I've never shown before<br>Somebody shake me 'cause I, I must be sleeping_

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><p>"Why?" Naruto whispered, afraid to speak any louder for fear of breaking whatever spell they were under. He wasn't even sure what he was asking.<p>

"Because..." Sasuke replied with a shrug.

"Teme! That's not an answer." Naruto growled and tried to pull away. Sasuke only held him tighter and sighed to himself. He hated dealing with the emotional stuff, but he knew Naruto wouldn't let him get away with saying nothing.

"Because it's always been you Naruto..."

"W-What?" Sasuke twitched slightly at the interruption, but didn't stop. Because if he stopped, he'd never finish.

"Always. It just took me some time to figure it out. And even more time for me to do something about it." Sasuke could admit it now. What had started so long ago as a bitter rivalry slowly turned to a grudging friendship. And even though they were separated for so long, when they met again, they picked up right where they left off and became best friends. In time, it became even more than that. For the past year and a half, he'd been thinking over what it was the two of them had. What it was that made his emotions go haywire just from being around him.

The blond knucklehead always had his attention, even if it was for the purpose of annoying him. Even now, he really couldn't pinpoint when exactly his feelings for the dobe had morphed into something beyond friendship. Hell, for the longest time, he had tried to deny that they were even friends. He was too busy pushing away every useless emotion in favor of the hate he needed to hold onto so badly in order to carry out his revenge. And for so long, he thought he'd succeeded in burying every one of his weak emotions and breaking every single bond.

But then he'd ended up in Bird Country of all places. Who'd have thought that in such a place he'd end up running into Naruto? And once they'd gotten over the initial shock, anger, and resentment, it was like they'd never been apart. Sure they fought and argued and resorted to their usual name calling. But it was familiar. It was natural. It made him smile. And he couldn't imagine it any other way. Slowly but surely, it healed his tattered soul. And once his heart had finally mended and Konoha became home again, what started as a nagging feeling back in Bird Country fully blossomed into something he'd never expected.

He'd fallen in love with his best friend.

He smiled as he brushed his thumbs over the thin whiskers of Naruto's cheeks. Naruto allowed it, too shocked to do anything else. He was speechless.

That didn't happen often.

Naruto never admitted it, but deep down he really hadn't ever considered a romantic relationship with anyone. Sure he had his crush on Sakura when he was young. But he never thought anything would come of it. Not really. And as he grew up he forced his thoughts to stay on being a ninja and getting Sasuke back. Even after he was banished and settled in a new home that had no knowledge of him, his thoughts didn't change. A piece of the old Naruto forever laid buried...the young insecure one that felt no one would ever love him because of who he was and what he carried. It was hidden deep inside him, but it was there. And as time moved along and he saw or heard about his friends slowly moving into adulthood and developing relationships with one another, he was happy for them. Yet, it was tinged with sadness, along with a deep yearning for the same type of love and affection that he saw them receive.

But he'd forced himself not to think of it. He'd assumed that love was something he, a jinchuuriki, would never have. And he schooled himself to be ok with being alone.

Then there was Sasuke...

Maybe somewhere deep down in his heart he knew, even then, that he felt something different than just friendship. Why else would he have been so willing to chase his friend to the ends of the earth to get him back? Everyone else in Konoha, even Sakura, eventually gave up and moved on. Yet, he couldn't. Even after he'd been banished, he never really stopped looking for Sasuke. Each country and village he entered, he kept a lookout for the dark haired avenger.

That fateful day when Sasuke ended up at his cabin injured, while he was wary, he'd still felt his heart swell with a happiness he hadn't felt in years. It was like a weight had been lifted from his heart and his spirit. What that meant, he had no idea. Love was something he'd never really understood. It was something he'd never asked about, and no one told him either. Of course, there was the skewed version of love he found in Jiraiya's books, but he didn't really believe those were all that true. Sure, he could say he understood familial love - he had Iruka, Baa-chan, and Ero-sennin, after all. They were family. Sakura and Kakashi were family too. Sasuke though, he had never truly been able to define their relationship. Yes, he told him back at the Valley of the End that he considered him a brother. And at that time he did. It was one of the few types of relationships he understood at the age of 12. What he felt in reality, though, was something more...so much more... He just didn't understand it then.

Over time, that feeling grew and shaped into something he still hadn't given a name to because he was afraid of rejection. He knew Sasuke's only other ambition besides killing Itachi had been restoring the Uchiha clan. He couldn't do that without a female, obviously. So he continued to block out the strange tingles he had whenever his best friend was around until denial had become so easy to swim in, he stopped thinking about it altogether.

Until right now.

Naruto smiled.

Sasuke kissed him.

He kissed Sasuke.

They felt the same!

Suddenly, something he had forgotten about came to mind and he burst out laughing. Sasuke raised a brow and wondered what the dobe could find to laugh about in this situation.

"What?"

"Nothing...I just now remembered something my father told me. I didn't get it then. But I do now."

"What did he say?"

"One of the last things he said to me before he disappeared was 'Make sure you tell Sasuke.' I had no idea what he meant and he knew it. So he said I'd figure it out one day. He was right. I understand it now."

Sasuke smirked. "And what exactly were you supposed to tell me, hmm?"

Naruto grinned and this time he was the one to pull Sasuke forward into a kiss.

"Hey Naruto?" Sakura opened the door and opened her mouth to speak, except nothing came out. Her eyes widened and the scroll she was carrying dropped to the floor forgotten.

Sasuke...

Naruto...

Kissing...

Her senses were on overload. She was on the verge of a nosebleed. She felt the urge to squeal.

Both men's eyes popped open when they heard their pink haired teammate's voice. The wide-eyed, blushing Naruto stared at his open mouthed friend. Sasuke turned his head, sporting a slight blush of his own when he saw her wide seafoam eyes focused in on them.

"Uh...Sakura..." She blinked a few times before she recovered at the sound of her name. Then she waved her hands at them in a dismissive sort of gesture.

"Heh…don't stop on my account boys." Sakura grinned and picked up the scroll she had dropped to the floor from shock. "I'll just drop this off and leave you to...well...whatever." She glanced at the two of them as she placed the scroll on the desk. She couldn't help but blush again. With a slightly nervous yet perverted giggle, she quickly turned to leave.

Neither male noticed since their eyes had returned to each other.

As she closed the door behind her she smiled, genuinely happy for her teammates. She'd held it back for too long and she couldn't hold it in anymore.

She squealed.

After that, she walked off with a smile on her face and murmured. "It's about time you two."

The sound of the door closing and the squeal they heard in the hallway brought them back from their impromptu gazing match. Naruto shook his head to clear it and grabbed the scroll from the desk. After breaking the seal, he opened it. Perusing it quickly, he groaned and tossed it aside.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked. Naruto's answer was to groan again and place his forehead on the other man's shoulder. Sasuke raised a brow. His fingers moved upwards to massage the tanned neck that was suddenly more tense than before. "Naruto?"

"That meeting with the daimyo...you know, the one that was supposed to be rescheduled after that little skirmish a couple of days ago?"

"Yes...what about it?" Naruto grimaced, though Sasuke couldn't see it.

"It's been rescheduled...For half an hour from now." Sasuke's hand that was against Naruto's lower back fisted tightly into the black shirt. He growled and suddenly wished he could beat up the daimyo. Of all the times... Just when things were finally getting somewhere, that man wanted to meet. The raven didn't want Naruto to leave. Not right now.

"Sasuke..." Naruto tried to comfort his ANBU guard. Sasuke looked up at the Rokudaime with a glare. With a sigh, Naruto slid his hand into Sasuke's and squeezed it.

"Stop glaring. I doubt the meeting will take that long. I'll be back soon." Naruto brushed his thumb over the pale fingers. Sasuke flicked his eyes to their hands, then back up to his best friend's face. He allowed his glare to soften.

"Fine, but we're finishing what we started at the house when you get back...Hokage-sama." After one last lingering kiss, he went through a few hand signs and transported himself away.

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><p>Aya was training behind the house when Sasuke appeared. He watched her proudly as she did a B-rank earth jutsu. Naruto and he had signed her up to take the genin exam as soon as she had gotten settled in and used to things in Konoha, as well as grieved for what had been left behind. Of course, with the skills they'd given her, she passed easily. And just as Iruka speculated, she was place in Team Ebisu with Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon. Sasuke hadn't been all that happy about her placement. But he was forced to change his mind after the first chuunin exam held in Konoha since Orochimaru's invasion. The team was so impressive that at the end of it, all of them were promoted to chuunin.<p>

Like most girls, Aya made friends quickly...she was a typical teenager after all. During the Akatsuki invasion, she met Moegi. They clicked immediately. Moegi loved her two boys, but she did need some girl time once in a while and she latched onto Aya the moment they met. The two became inseperable.

Aya turned around and wiped her sweaty brow with the back of her hand. She squeaked in surprise when she saw Sasuke leaning against the wall. She hadn't even heard him coming.

"You're improving."

She smiled at the short praise. He wasn't one to give praise very often.

"Well, obviously not enough since I still can't sense you coming." Sasuke smirked.

"It will take years of training for you to even think about being able to sense me." Aya pouted. Sasuke chuckled and walked up to her and pulled one of her pigtails. "Keep working hard. You'll learn soon enough."

"Thanks Sasu-tousan." Yes, that nickname that started as a joke had stuck. And it only held more meaning for the trio when Sasuke and Naruto decided to adopt her together. It was a shock when they came to her with their proposal. They knew, of course, that she wasn't much younger than they were. She was more like a younger sister than anything. They had created a sort of pseudo-family together. And none of them were too keen on losing it. So, legally they were family. And she found that she liked calling them both tousan. Despite Sasuke's glares and Naruto's groans, she knew that secretly they liked it too.

However, there were some glitches. First, the two argued over whether she should be an Uchiha or Uzumaki. After much arguing and fighting, Uchiha eventually won out. Then once things had settled down in Konoha, Sasuke sold most of the Uchiha compound to the village to do what they wanted and then took the land that was left and had a new house built. That started a whole new argument since both of them wanted her to stay with one of them.

Of course, the most obvious solution in Aya's mind was for all of them to move into the new home together since there was so much more room. But she was shot down with twin glares. Naruto didn't want to move from his apartment and Sasuke acted like he didn't want Naruto at his home. So, the compromised. She spent one week with Sasuke and the next with Naruto. Although lately, it was seeming more and more likely that she would get what she had wanted in the first place. Naruto was spending more time at the Uchiha home than at his own apartment. He practically owned the guest bedroom and had a closet full of clothes there.

She had her own ideas as to why the two of them couldn't stay away from each other. But she kept it to herself.

Aya followed Sasuke into the house and then made a beeline for the kitchen for some water. Sasuke leaned against the wall and watched her drink a glass of water then place the empty glass in the sink.

"So, you have any plans tonight?" Sasuke asked. Aya shrugged.

"No. Why?"

"Because you do now."

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

Sasuke shrugged as nonchalantly as he could muster in order to hide the way he was trying to put her out. "Don't you want to sleep over at Moegi's or something?"

Unfortunately Aya had known him far too long to be fooled by his facade. She turned around and leaned against the cabinet and crossed her arms over her chest.

"And why would I want to do that? I see Moegi all the time." Sasuke raised his dark brow. Aya raised one right back. If Sasuke wasn't so intent on getting her to agree, he'd laugh. She'd been around him for so long she was starting to pick up some of his Uchiha traits to go along with the name.

Well crap, he'd have to swallow his pride. "Please Aya?"

"Wow, tousan, you're so desperate that you'd resort to begging? What's going on? You and Ru finally confess or something?"

Sasuke almost choked. "Excuse me?"

Aya rolled her eyes. "Oh come on...it's not like it wasn't completely obvious. I'm not blind and stupid you know. You two have been dancing around each other since the day I met you. Heck, he spends more time here than he ever does at his apartment. Anyone in Konoha can tell that you guys suffer from some major sexual tension." She grinned at the gaping Sasuke.

He couldn't believe Aya had known what was going on before they did. He scoffed and walked away. "Get out of here you brat." He finally said. She giggled and kissed him on the cheek and walked off to go pack. She stopped on her way up the stairs.

"Hey." Sasuke raised a brow. She smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "Good luck."

Five minutes later she was on her way to Moegi's. Twenty minutes later there was a fangirlish squeal heard throughout Konoha as Aya explained to her best friend why she was sleeping over.

* * *

><p>Naruto silently drummed his fingers on his leg under the table. He was so freaking bored. Tsunade never told him that these meetings would be so boring, nor so pointless. There was more whining, arguing and nonsense that went on then actually speaking on issues that mattered.<p>

Hell, he could think of 101 things he could be doing right now instead of meeting over politics and policies with the daimyo. At least two thirds of the things he was thinking of involved Sasuke. He was still shocked over the sudden change in their relationship. He'd never expected Sasuke to feel the same way he did.

And Ero-sennin thought he didn't notice what went on in those books of his. He knew. Truthfully, there were decent stories behind all the porn. All the love and romance. He just chose to ignore it since it seemed like a fairy tale to someone like him.

And that kiss... He discreetly shook his head. He had to stop thinking about it before he embarrassed himself in front of the daimyo. He was glad for hokage robes. And thank goodness he and Sasuke had finally figured out a way to block each others thoughts and emotions. Because now that their feelings were finally out in the open, he couldn't stop the emotions from bursting inside him.

He glanced at the daimyo and found him still rambling on about trivial matters. So his mind wandered back to all of those small moments that made up their relationship – their accidental kiss, their battle to climb trees, the day he thought Sasuke died at the hands of Haku, their fight on the roof of the hospital, the day Sasuke left, and his urgent need to find him. He remembered their brief meeting at Orochimaru's lair where he was left behind again and the moment he noticed the heroic ninja bleeding in his bed was his best friend.

There were the nights they spent under the stars, the days they spent training, the moments they would wake up with limbs twisted together…. He had been feeling things for so long, he just hadn't understood them. No wonder his father said what he did. How could his father have known what he was feeling? He didn't know what he was feeling back then. And now it was like his emotions were making up for lost time. It was driving him crazy that instead of being with Sasuke right now doing things he hadn't really dreamed of until now, he was stuck here with the Daimyo...who just wouldn't let this damn meeting end!

And he had told Sasuke it wouldn't take that long...pfft.

He rolled his eyes. It had been two hours and this stupid meeting still showed no signs of ending. He was starting to wish he had sent a clone to the meeting in his place.

At least then he could be doing what he really wanted.

* * *

><p><em>Now that we're here, it's so far away<br>All the struggle we thought was in vain  
>And all the mistakes, one life contained<br>They all finally start to go away  
>Now that we're here, it's so far away<br>And I feel like I can face the day  
>I can forgive and I'm not ashamed to be the person that I am today<em>

* * *

><p>Sasuke had his long legs stretched out on the couch while he read through a scroll. Although he hadn't actually read anything on the paper for the past hour. The dobe still hadn't gotten back yet and, damn it all, he wanted to kill him. Well, actually he wanted to do other things to him. He'd been waiting forever for this to happen and Naruto was late!<p>

He tried to take his mind off of it by making something to eat. But cooking for one didn't take long, so now he was trying to read. Unfortunately, it wasn't working. Especially since he'd read this scroll before.

At this rate, he was going to jump the dobe the moment he walked through the door and take him against the nearest wall.

Of course, that brought forth all sorts of imagery that just made things worse. He groaned and put his head in his hands. What happened to that famed Uchiha self-control?

That's right...It had been ripped away by blond hair, blue eyes, tanned skin, muscular body...uh…yeah….

Moving on.

He was debating whether to take a cold shower or not when the front door opened and he heard the tell tale heavy footsteps. He slowly put down his scroll and looked up at the tall figure standing in the foyer.

Naruto sighed and kicked off his shoes. He looked up and got caught in the Uchiha's dark eyes. The intensity in them was almost overwhelming and he stood still. He suddenly understood what it felt like to be an animal that was cornered by a dangerous predator. Instead of feeling fear, though, he felt excitement course through his veins. Sasuke smirked at the look in Naruto's eyes and got up. He slowly and deliberately moved toward him. Naruto watched as he got closer...closer...

He gulped reflexively.

"It's about time you got here dobe." Naruto almost shivered. Was it just him or did Sasuke's voice sound deeper.

"Sorry about that. The damn meeting ran eternally long."

"Hn."

Sasuke stopped in front of the blond and trapped him against the door with his hands placed on each side. They weren't touching, but they didn't have to. Just from the close proximity, their hearts pounded in excitement. Naruto's breath quickened.

They knew what was inevitably going to happen tonight and neither one of them wanted to fight it. It had been too long...Far too long.

"Aya?" Naruto cursed the way his voice shook slightly.

"At Moegi's."

Warm puffs of air teased the skin of Naruto's face as Sasuke spoke and he closed his eyes. "Oh."

And then nothing else was said as Sasuke leaned just that extra few inches forward and his mouth devoured Naruto's. This time there was no holding back, no interruptions...

Well, almost.

"Teme, you rip this custom made coat and I'll kill you."

"You better hurry up and take it off then dobe."

Naruto fumbled and shrugged his way out of the coat while Sasuke's mouth and hands wandered everywhere at a frenzied pace.

"Dammit, wait a second teme."

"No, I'm not waiting anymore." A kiss on the neck. "I've been waiting all day." Fingers danced under the black t-shirt. "I've been waiting for years." A nibble on the earlobe. "I'm done waiting." With a suck on the neck, he stressed his point, making Naruto moan with it.

"S-Sasuke..." Naruto blushed at the way his voice just sounded - husky and needy...so very, very needy. Sasuke smirked and stepped back, grabbed a tanned hand and yanked Naruto up the stairs with him. They bypassed the guest bedroom that the blond claimed as his own and walked toward the main bedroom. Their clothes dropped along the way, creating a sloppy trail that led to Sasuke's room. By the time they stumbled through the doorway, both were only clad in boxers.

Sasuke pushed Naruto backwards until the blond fell back on the bed. Naruto pulled the brunet with him. Skin met skin, making them both gasp at the sensation. Their lips collided and it was hungry, needy, all encompassing. Sasuke's tongue dived into the hot cavern and stroked Naruto's until the two tongues were twisting together in their own battle of supremacy. The Uchiha couldn't help but chuckle. Things between them would always be a battle no matter what it was for.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

Their moans melded together as they ground their erections against one another and their hands roamed over any place it could reach, stroking each other into a hot and needy trembling frenzy.

But it was nothing compared to what was to come.

Sasuke stared down at the tanned blond and waited until Naruto's passionate blue orbs focused in on him.

"Wha-..." Naruto swallowed and tried again. "W-Why did you stop?" He asked. Sasuke looked so serious for a moment that Naruto felt a flash of fear. Did he do something wrong? He steeled himself for the possibility of rejection.

"Open them." Sasuke whispered.

"W-What?" Naruto asked shakily. He wasn't expecting that.

"You know what I mean Naruto."

Naruto did know. And he wasn't sure it was a good idea for either of them. They kept their minds closed off unless they were on missions, and it was for good reason. "S-Sasuke...I don't know..."

"Do it." He ordered softly. Then he added, "Please?"

Naruto took a deep breath and then mentally undid the locks on his emotions while Sasuke undid his.

Both of them moaned loudly and lost eye contact as their eyes squeezed shut at the onslaught of emotions that poured into them. All the blood seemed to rush south and they couldn't stop themselves from grinding against each other feverishly as desire built to a fever pitch and took over their senses. Their yells reverberated off the walls and their bodies shuddered together as they both came in their boxers. Sasuke laid his head in the crook of Naruto's neck and his breath came in pants.

"Na-ru-to..." The deep lusty timbre of his voice went straight through Naruto immediately making him hard again. That hot tongue swirled around his throbbing pulse point causing the blond to moan in need.

"Sasuke...s-stop...t-teasing..." The stroking tongue was like fire burning a trail slowly down his skin. Naruto could hardly breathe.

With one hand Sasuke grabbed the lube on the nightstand while the other hand ripped Naruto's boxers away leaving him completely naked. Sasuke groaned as he got harder just looking at the tanned muscular body below him. He opened the tube and rubbed the lube generously over his fingers.

"You know this is going to hurt."

Naruto snorted. "I'm a ninja. I think I can handle a little pain."

"Well if that's the case I can just shove it right in." Naruto growled.

"Bastard."

"You love me."

Naruto smiled serenely at that. "Yeah I do love you." he breathed.

Sasuke paused a moment at the words. He was hearing those words for the first time aloud since he was a child. Hearing it from his lover's lips just made it so much better. And the true smile on his dobe's face made him want to melt, not that he would admit it. He gave Naruto a small smile of his own.

"Good. Because I love you too."

He pushed in one finger immediately after the words, watching Naruto grimace a bit. Considering he was in the perfect position for it, he distracted him by licking up the come from their previous activities a minute ago. Naruto moaned loudly and almost forgot about the stinging pain as his length was teased by that talented tongue. He hardly noticed as Sasuke added another finger. He did notice, though, when the third pushed inside and he growled in some pain. But it was immediately coaxed away by a hot mouth around him sucking and licking him to the edge of a precipice but not allowing him to go over.

"S-Suke...p-please..."

Sasuke grinned evilly and pulled his mouth away. "Begging now dobe?"

"S-Shut up."

"I could just stop, you know."

"Stop now and I'll kill you."

"You know, you've been threatening me quite a lot lately."

"Teme..." Naruto growled in warning.

Sasuke smirked and pushed his fingers deeper and slowly rubbed that soft spot deep inside Naruto. The young hokage gasped out a curse.

"Hmm...I think you liked that dobe." He pulled his fingers out slowly to their tips before repeating the action.

"Oh god." Naruto groaned as he arched off the bed and saw stars explode beneath his closed eyelids.

"I haven't even done anything yet Naruto." Sasuke purred against the blond's ear. He pulled his fingers out and shifted, awkwardly kicking off his boxers. He coated himself with lube and then pulled one of Naruto's legs over his shoulder and pushed his tip past the small ring of muscles.

Naruto hissed in pain with every inch that went inside him. "Damn…t-teme."

"Quit whining dobe. It's not that bad." Sasuke ground out through his teeth as a portion of his length was swallowed in a tight cocoon. It felt so good it took everything he had not to move.

"Says you who's not taking it up the ass. Next time I'm gonna do you!"

"Che...what happened to the 'I'm a ninja. I can handle it?'"

"Just shut up and move teme!"

"Hn." Sasuke was only too happy to comply since that was what he really wanted anyway. With one swift thrust he was in the rest of the way. He stopped to wait for Naruto to relax and adjust.

"NO...just move dammit!" Naruto growled and his eyes closed tightly against the pain that almost felt like he was being ripped apart.

Sasuke hesitated a moment at the pain on his lover's face. But then one blue eye opened and glared at him. So Sasuke obeyed and moved slowly, moaning at the way the tight walls squeezed him. His body trembled with the need to pound into that tight ass. But he held back. Naruto impatiently grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down to kiss him hard before letting him go again. Then he wrapped his free leg around the pale thin waist and pulled Sasuke deeper, making them both groan in pain and pleasure.

Their eyes met at that moment...liquid blue against smoldering black. Sasuke lost the ability to think and completely lost control. He pulled back and slammed into him hard and deep. Naruto yelled and arched his back.

"Oh there! Right there!"

Sasuke growled and released every single bit of his pent up emotions, letting them merge with his best friend's - now lover's - and pounded into him hard and relentlessly…unable and unwilling to slow down.

Between the incessant perfect striking of his prostate - damn Uchihas are always good at everything - and feeling both Sasuke's and his own emotions, Naruto could already feel his body speeding toward the edge. And Sasuke knew it. He wanted to tease the blond…but kami, he was so tight, it felt too good to even think about stopping and so he pushed on towards a conclusion he anticipated and dreaded. Knowing his lover was just as close, he grabbed Naruto's neglected length and pumped in time with his hard and fast strokes.

Naruto lost it the moment he felt that slightly rough touch from calloused hands and screamed as white hot pleasure coursed through every inch of his body. His orgasm ripped through him and he writhed in unrestrained pleasure, so out of it, he didn't even hear Sasuke's pleasured yells that mixed with his own as he came along with him.

It took a few minutes before Sasuke gathered just enough energy to roll over. Both males lay on their backs trying to calm down, attempting to somehow make sense of the sudden change in their lives.

But some things just don't make sense. They just work. They defy all forms of logic. And there was nothing else to be done but accept it.

For Naruto, acceptance had always been an easier task. His hand moved and slipped over toward Sasuke's and waited. He would only go halfway this time. The rest was up to him. He watched Sasuke turn his head and dark eyes, full of emotions that no one else would ever have the privilege to see, stared deeply into his own.

And still he waited.

Sasuke knew what Naruto was waiting for and so he slowly smiled and turned his hand just slightly…just enough for their fingers to touch, intertwine and fit together perfectly.

* * *

><p><em>I'm so afraid of waking<br>Please don't shake me  
>Afraid of waking<br>Please don't shake me_

* * *

><p>A small strip of moonlight illuminated the room. Sasuke could feel himself drifting peacefully, edging slowly toward sleep. He'd never felt so at peace.<p>

"Mmm...am I dreaming?" Naruto asked softly. His eyes were still closed as if he was afraid of opening them and finding himself in his own apartment, alone.

"If you are, then we're having the same dream." Sasuke murmured. His free hand moved to brush damp blond locks away from his lover's face. "So..."

"Yeah?" Naruto prompted softly. His fingertip drifted lightly down the milky white jawline.

"You think there's any rules out there about a hokage marrying a fellow ninja that just happens to be male?"

Naruto's eyes scrunched up in confusion. "I thought you didn't want to get married." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Usuratonkachi, I said I didn't want to marry a _girl_."

Naruto blinked. Then his eyes widened when the proverbial light bulb finally went on in his head, followed by a blush. "Ohhh."

"Well?" Sasuke prodded, raising a brow.

"I-I don't think so...but if there is, it won't be a law much longer. I do have the authority to change things, after all." Naruto said with a blinding smile. Sasuke grinned and pulled him closer, kissing him with a gentleness that most people would never know he possessed.

They laid there, arms and legs entangled, and slightly dozed. Sasuke was on the verge of truly falling asleep when Naruto mumbled something.

"Hm?" Sasuke grunted lazily.

"I said I'm hyphenating my name you know."

One sleepy glaring eye opened. "The hell you are." Sasuke mumbled.

"You can't stop me teme."

"Wanna bet dobe."

"I leave the betting to baa-chan."

"You'll be an _Uchiha _dobe." Sasuke ground out.

"Nope, _Uzumaki_-Uchiha. Or maybe it should be Uchiha-Uzumaki."

"Dobe..." Sasuke glared.

"Oh…wait…Uchiha-Uzumaki-Namikaze!"

"Naruto…" Sasuke growled.

Naruto chuckled. "Goodnight teme."

Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes before settling in and pulling the blond closer.

"Goodnight dobe."


End file.
